Women Coalition of Zimbabwe has called on government to lift lockdown restrictions which have been in place since March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic first hit Zimbabwe.
In its latest situation report, WCoZ said they have noted government’s reluctance to relax COVID-19 Containment Regulations which includes compulsory wearing of masks and curfews among others.
“Given these developments, coupled with the context where we have witnessed unrestricted socio-political activities, we legitimately anticipate that Government is forging a pathway out of lockdown, which has been in place since March 2020. At the same time, we note that international best practices have indicated that the immediate period post-lifting of restrictions, results in flash of cases, as a result of highly expanded social and economic activities,” said WCoZ.
WCoZ has therefore called for an advanced public engagement strategy to guide the nation out of lock-down.
“We urge an adequately supported health system and supply chains to ensure the capacity of health personnel to meet the anticipated spike in demand of services. We further urge the retention of sanitisation services and support across the country regardless of lockdown restrictions,” said WCoZ.
Zimbabwe has marked 745 days under the COVID-19 lockdown, as of 12 April 2022, the Ministry of Health and Child Care reported that, the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases had increased to 247 094 after 84 new cases all local cases, were recorded.
